Providing Multiple-Channel Communication Using the Experimental Digital Switch

This report describes the functional characteristics of a circuit-switched network which is capable of providing data communication paths as well as voice channels. In the system described, the circuit switch may be shared in order to provide multiple independently switched paths through the network. Unlike a conventional circuit switch, this sharing permits only a fraction of the switching capacity to be consumed which is proportional to the allocated bandwidth of the path. Additional economy is gained by providing multiple communication paths over the single communication resource between the subscriber and the switching machine. The fraction of the communication resource which is used by the subscriber is proportional to the total bandwidth of the channels which have been allocated. This allocation is performed dynamically, in response to subscriber requests. Algorithms are presented which perform this allocation efficiently. The resulting network provides a communication vehicle which provides both data and voice services in an integrated fashion.